Into the Light (Dark #2) Page 3

  “I know. A few years ago, they went on this road trip and got lost in the country. They found this little town and fell in love with it. They felt it would be a safe place for Laney to start her life over. Even though she grew up in San Diego, they didn’t like the idea of her being in a big city fending for herself. Their perception is a little skewed if you ask me.”

  “Where the heck do they live, Timbuktu?”

  “Close enough. They live in a town called Frohna. I hear it’s a very nice place to live, but it’s definitely a slower pace of living.”

  “Huh. There are so many things she didn’t tell me.”

  “Now do you see why she was reluctant to move too quickly with you?”

  Josh tightened his lips into a straight line. “I know enough about her to know there’s nothing you can say that will make me stop loving her. She’s the woman I’m meant to be with.”

  “Well, that’s sweet and I applaud your tenacity. You need to dial back the possessiveness thing with her. It’ll freak her out, especially after the whole Scott thing.”

  Josh thought about what Peyton was saying. He didn’t believe for a moment there was anything wrong with his demeanor. He had been possessive and controlling for as long as he could remember. It helped him become one of the best trauma surgeons in the country, and it had helped keep the people he loved safe. Besides the occasional blip, Laney seemed to like him just fine.

  “I’ll take that into consideration.”

  Peyton smiled and nodded. “Do you mind if I have some time alone with Laney? I promise to have you paged if anything happens.”

  He hesitated. The idea of leaving Laney’s side left a hole the size of a crater in his heart. He needed to get used to the idea. Since he still had a job to perform, Josh couldn’t be with her all the time. “Sure, but call me on my cell phone. Paging me will take too long.” Josh picked up Peyton’s phone and programmed his number into it. He approached Laney and pressed his lips to her cold forehead. “I’ll be back later, baby. Peyton wants to spend some time with you. I won’t be too far away. I love you.”

  Josh walked to the glass door and hesitated. “Remember, Peyton. Call me for anything. And I mean anything.”

  Chapter 4

  Josh was still on call for another twelve hours. He adamantly refused to give up his shift when Dr. Milken offered to cover the rest of the night. It was better to be in the hospital and busy than sitting next to Laney worried and unable to do anything.

  After Josh left Laney’s room, he went to the doctor’s lounge and got a crappy day-old turkey sandwich. He hadn’t eaten anything all day, and the sandwich went down incredibly easy. He contemplated another but decided against it. Instead, he opted for some fresh air.

  Since it was late, most entrances to the hospital were closed. Josh headed out through the emergency room door and stood in the ambulance bay. He looked up into the sky hoping to see some stars. Instead, he saw the marine layer had rolled in for the night. With the orange lighting from the city, the sky had turned a strange shade of orange-red. It almost felt like he was in some Arnold Schwarzenegger movie set on Mars.

  Strangely enough, the ambulance bay was empty. It was a slow night. It was even quiet outside for the most part. In the distance was the slight purr of traffic on the highway. The soothing sound allowed Josh to clear his mind and feel a little less tense.

  After several minutes, Josh contemplated heading back inside the hospital to check on his young motorcycle rider, Skyler. Skyler had been his patient for several weeks. He had been in a severe accident, which had almost killed him. Josh had quickly taken a liking to Skyler and his mom, Rebecca. Josh enjoyed the bond they all shared bringing Skyler back to health. It was a miracle Skyler was alive. He had defied the odds and was almost ready for discharge.

  Rebecca was an outstanding woman. She was a single mom with the strength to dedicate her life to her son. Skyler was her world. Josh also watched the budding relationship between Rebecca and Officer Stephen Miller, who had been running the investigation into Skyler’s motorcycle accident. Josh was happy to see a success story with a happy ending. It was rare in his line of work.

  As Josh crossed the bay, a car barreled at him at an unusually high rate of speed. He was frozen like a deer in the headlights staring at the one headlight that was lit. His heart pounded as the car screeched to a halt. A couple of guys shot out of the front seat. The driver ran to the passenger side. Both men opened the door to the backseat and pulled out a third person.

  Josh’s bodily functions returned as he approached the vehicle. “Hey, do you need help?”

  “Andale! Andale!” The guys rushed frantically to pull out the wounded person. The two men left the body on the ground, got back in the car, and took off speeding through the parking lot. Josh ran to the person lying on the floor. A pool of blood already surrounding him. For a brief second, he had a flashback of Laney on the floor of the trauma room. Refusing to go to that place, Josh felt for the pulse at the guy’s neck. It was weak.

  “Hey, can you wake up?” Josh shook the limp body. The man moaned a bit but nothing more. Josh ran into the ER to grab a gurney and some help.

  Finding the gurney was easy. There was always one hovering by the ambulance entrance for scenarios such as this. Locating the staff wasn’t as easy. When he didn’t feel like talking or flirting with any of the nurses, they were right at his beck and call. Now, it was a ghost town. Josh yelled. “Hey! I need some help! Can someone help me out here?”

  Immediately, three nurses poked their head out of a patient’s room. “What’s up, Dr. Stone? Whatcha need?” One of the nurses approached with a smile and an eagerness to help.

  “There’s a guy in the ambulance bay who is bleeding. I need help to get him on a gurney. Someone call for a major trauma. I need the OR ready, stat!”

  A flock of nurses had gathered. Linda, the trauma nurse, broke through the crowd. She was tall with bright red hair pulled back in a bun. She was a strong nurse, always quick to lead the team and get bad situations under control. Linda grabbed a couple of other nurses leading them out to the ambulance bay. They loaded the man onto the gurney and into the trauma room. Staff from the emergency department had crowded around to see what all the commotion was. They behaved as though they had never seen a trauma. Irritated, Josh barked. “If you aren’t directly involved in this patient’s care, I want you out. I can’t do my job with this much commotion. Security, shut the doors behind the last person. I don’t want any more looky-loos.”

  The staff scattered. Josh helped the tech get the patient undressed so he could assess the wounds. The man was covered with a very prominent tattoo across his chest that read ‘Westside’ in old English lettering. There were several holes in the patient’s chest, abdomen, and arms. Josh stuck his gloved finger in the holes to determine the depth of the wounds.

  “Okay, it appears he has five fairly minor stab wounds to the chest and four significant ones to the abdomen. He also has some big gashes to his arms that need to be sutured. Linda, start me two large-bore IVs. Do we have a blood pressure yet?”

  “Yeah, Doc, it’s eighty-seven over forty-two!”

  “Great start him on two liters of lactated ringers wide open. Call the blood bank to get some blood to the OR stat. Sandra, is your team ready?”

  Sandra was the OR nurse who responded to traumas. She was also the one who had helped with Laney. “Yes, Dr. Stone. We’re prepped and ready.”

  “All right, let’s get him to surgery. We can finish him up there.”

  Josh longed for the serenity of the OR. The quiet environment was a much-needed break from the chaos he’d experienced the previous twenty-four hours. The OR could be as loud or as quiet as he wanted it to be. Because it was a sterile environment, only those people who were required to help with the surgery were allowed in. He looked forward to being able to plug in his iPod and bury himself in his work and his music.

  Since the patient wasn’t stabilized, Josh accompanied him
to the OR suite. Even though this patient was new, his injuries were not. Josh had performed this surgery a thousand times and knew he could get lost in his thoughts doing what was essentially second nature. Josh placed his iPod on the docking station. Enya rang through the speakers. After the day he’d had, he craved the melancholy music hoping it would provoke less conversation.

  Josh approached the surgical table pleased the patient was already prepped and ready. He retrieved the scalpel from the scrub tech and made a long incision across the man’s abdomen. Systematically locating each wound, Josh assessed which needed his immediate attention, and then cut and sewed with precision and purpose.

  Josh reflected on his days in residency when he helped with surgeries and learning the various procedures. Most of his fellow classmates were nervous their first few times. Josh was never nervous. He was meant to be a surgeon, and it was his job to be the best one he could.

  Josh strived to be the best at everything he did. Failure was never an option. Being the son of a revered Air Force pilot forced him to have higher standards and expectations. Because his dad was in the military, his family had moved around a lot when he was young. At first, he was a very social child and made new friends everywhere. However, Josh got to the point he didn’t want to waste the time trying to make new friends just to pick up and leave soon after that. Instead, he dove into his schoolwork and became a straight A student, never missing an opportunity to be on the honor roll.

  Josh was just twelve when his family settled in San Diego and his dad went off to Desert Storm. Lieutenant Colonel Stone sat Josh down and explained he was going to have to be the man of the house and take care of his mother and younger sister. Josh would have to continue to work hard in school and pick up the extra slack around the house. His mom would be concerned about his dad, and he didn’t want her to have to worry about Josh and Jillian too. Josh took his new role seriously.

  It wasn’t until that fateful day in November that Josh realized he was truly going to be the man of the house. His dad had been gone for seven months. A week before he was scheduled to come home, John Edward Stone’s jet was shot down by enemy insurgents. His dad was killed instantly. Josh was devastated. He’d loved and idolized his dad. John wasn’t just a hero for the nation, he was Josh’s hero. He wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps.

  A month after his father had been laid to rest, his mother approached him. He recalled the conversation like it was yesterday.

  “Josh, I want you to know how proud I am of you. You have really stepped up since your father left. I appreciate all you’ve done. I need you to listen to me. I need you to focus on being a kid and being happy. You need to enjoy your childhood because before you know it, you’ll be an adult with more responsibilities than you know what to do with.” Josh had nodded in agreement, but no way was he going to stop taking care of his family.

  His mom placed her hands on each side of his head. “Josh, I need you to do something for me. I need you to promise you’ll never go into the military. I can’t bear the idea of losing my husband and my son. If you want to do something for this family, you’ll stay away from the military. I beg you.”

  Until that moment, Josh had never thought of doing anything else. It just seemed like the natural order of things. His dad had been recognized with many medals and was quickly making his way up the ladder to become a general. Josh wanted to follow in his footsteps. Knowing he couldn’t deny his mom’s request, Josh wracked his brain searching for another path. College was the only other option.

  Josh’s mom didn’t have a lot of money. His dad’s military benefits would only take them so far. Josh worked as hard as he could in school to get the best grades he could in hopes of a scholarship. He had a 4.5 GPA. He participated in several extra-curricular activities such as playing the cello, and he was the catcher on the high school baseball team and president of the ASB. It wasn’t until his younger sister was diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of sixteen that he decided to become a doctor. She struggled to get proper treatment and watching doctors and nurses treat her like she was a burden on society made him want to make the system better.

  Josh applied to many colleges and was accepted to almost all of them. He chose the University of California San Diego so he could be close to his mom and sister. It didn’t hurt that he got a full ride.

  Josh loved every minute on the campus. It was located right along the coastline nestled among the Torrey Pines. Whenever he had an hour or two to kill between classes, he grabbed his surfboard and headed to the water. On weekends, he visited Pacific Beach and did some barhopping with many of the other college students. At the end of the night, he always went to check on his mom and sister.

  Josh thought about continuing at UCSD for medical school. He networked with the professors and was told he would be accepted. His mom encouraged him to go elsewhere and experience life away from San Diego. After much hesitation, Josh agreed to apply for medical schools across the country. Again, he was accepted into multiple programs. When he was accepted into Harvard Medical School, the choice was made for him. There was no way he was going to miss that opportunity. Josh packed his bags and made his way to Boston.

  The first year on the east coast was hard. It was the first time that he had been away from his mom and his sister for a prolonged period of time. He was concerned that moving away may trigger another psychotic break for Jillian. Traumatic events usually caused them. He constantly felt guilty for moving even though his mom reassured him everything was okay.

  Josh flew home to visit his family for Christmas break his first year. Jillian had become much more well-adjusted. Even Mom seemed a little more carefree. Jillian had been working at a restaurant for about three months. It was the longest job she was ever able to keep. She had even looked into going to college to be a teacher. Life was moving in the right direction for everyone, which made Josh’s return back to Boston an easier transition.

  During his third year in medical school, Josh realized he wanted to be a surgeon. He had originally planned to be a psychiatrist so he could help with his sister’s care. Seeing how well she was doing allowed him to open his mind to other specialties. He also realized while he enjoyed his time in the magnificent city of Boston, he was ready to go home to his family. Josh applied for several surgical residency programs in Southern California. He was accepted to UCLA and USC. Since he wanted to be back in San Diego, he held out until he got his acceptance letter from UCSD. Before he knew it, he was back home in sunny San Diego.

  Josh had Jillian move in with him because their mom wanted to start traveling. She got a job working as a bartender at a restaurant. She continued having trouble keeping jobs, as she still had a rough time staying up with her medication regimen. But the bartending job seemed to work well for her as she had been working there for several months.

  A few months after moving in with Josh, Jillian had started drinking. It was something she had never done because of her illness. The drinking became more frequent. She neglected her medications. Jillian disappeared and stopped showing up for work. She was eventually fired. Josh and Jillian had drag-out fights about her drinking. One day, he found her naked in the front yard screaming things that didn’t make sense. She had no idea who he was. She thought there were bugs crawling all over her. Jillian was filthy and looked like she hadn’t bathed in days.

  Josh had her admitted to a psychiatric facility on a seventy-two-hour hold. They were able to get her back on her medications and stabilize her enough so she could function again without much help. After thirty days, she was released and Josh brought her home. Josh hovered for a while making sure she took her meds, helped her find a job, and made sure she didn’t drink alcohol. Bartending was the worst possible job for Jillian, but she assured him she could handle it. Josh’s residency program called for long hours and sometimes days away from Jillian. She had several more breakdowns and admissions to psychiatric facilities. He struggled with the need to help his sister or continue his
residency.

  Before he got into medicine, Josh thought medications could just fix everything. He didn’t realize they were just a Band-Aid for the disease. Because mental illness had such a stigma associated with it, it was very hard to get loved ones the support they needed. Maintaining a sense of normalcy was a constant struggle for Jillian.

  Even when she was on her meds, she was always a little bit off, though only those close to her could tell. Jillian often told Josh she was doing great, and she didn’t need the medications anymore. He’d try to convince her it was not the case and remind her about previous instances. Unfortunately, once she got something stuck in her head, it was next to impossible to get it out.

  Jillian had been on track for about a year and didn’t seem to need Josh as much. Some days, she was eerily sweet to him. She cozied up to him on the couch while they watched a movie. Other days, she seemed rather annoyed he talked to her at all. Jillian frequently let Josh know he didn’t need to take care of her anymore. She tried to prove her independence by picking up extra shifts bartending for a busy bar in Encinitas. She worked late into the night and slept most days. Their schedules were such that they hardly ran into each other. They did most of their communication by phone which was when she was usually really bitchy to him. Once he got home, it was a different story. She was very sweet and endearing. He figured she liked having him at home, even though she’d never admit it. Whatever the case, it made it difficult to talk to her on the phone.

  “Josh, are you ready for me to wake him up?”

  “Uh?” Josh looked toward the voice and found the anesthesiologist waiting for an answer. He realized he had completed the surgery. The patient’s abdomen was closed. He had sutured the small holes in the patient’s chest.

  “Yeah, that would be great. I don’t see any reason why we need to keep him under. Also, I think the police will want to have a discussion with this young man.”